Fight for Me by Jessica Linden Read Free Book Online

She looked around frantically.
    Knox. Where is Knox?
    He walked out of the bathroom, wearing jeans that were unbuttoned at the waist and hanging low on his hips. For a moment, she’d thought he’d decided she was too much trouble.
    But something told her this man didn’t give up easily.
    She was pleased to see his bandages were still white.
Good.
He hadn’t bled through them overnight.
    His dark eyes swept over her, sending tingles down her spine. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
    “You didn’t. What time is it?”
    “Ten.”
    He sat on the edge of the bed next to her, his presence reassuring. She wanted to pull him back into bed, to restart the morning with him beside her. But there were more pressing issues.
    “Are we leaving?” Part of her hoped he’d say no, that it’d be safe to bunker down here for another day while they figured out what to do.
    She could definitely handle spending a lazy day in a motel room with Knox.
    “We should move.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The longer we stay in one place, the easier we are to find.”
    She sighed. “Maybe we can just move to room one-oh-nine?” she asked hopefully with a wry smile.
    Knox chuckled, the first time she’d heard him laugh. It had a deep timbre that warmed her heart. “I wish, sweetheart.”
    He stood and held his hand out to help her up. She groaned as her muscles tightened under the weight of her own body. She ached all over.
    This time it was his turn for a wry smile. “You won’t be as sore once your muscles warm up.”
    He drew her to his chest and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes, drinking in the warmth of his body and the feel of his lips on her skin. He released her much too soon.
    She hobbled to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and by the time she emerged, she was moving much easier. The sun shone through the closed blinds and Natalie slipped her fingers between them to peek outside.
    “
Oh, no,
” she whispered. Apprehension filled her.
    Knox looked up, getting to his feet. “What is it?”
    Natalie peeked out the window again. She didn’t think he was one of her father’s men. Maybe it was just a coincidence that he was sitting there, looking so ominous. She wanted to believe it, but after meeting Knox, she didn’t believe in coincidences.
    “A guy is sitting in a car in the parking lot, watching the door.” She shoved her legs into a pair of jeans. “We’ve got to go.
Now.
”
    Knox glanced out the window and cursed, recognition sparking in his eyes.
    “Do you know him?” she asked.
    “Not exactly.” He paused, and she waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. No time for that now, anyway.
    He quickly gathered his belongings and threw them in his bag. “I don’t think he knows we’re on to him. Yet.”
    He tucked his phone in his back pocket, but she shook her head as she pulled and twisted her bra around. “Leave your phone behind.”
    Understanding showed on his face. “
Fuck.
”
    “I’m probably just being paranoid . . .”
    “No, you’re right. We don’t want the cops tracing us.” His eyes searched her face. “I’ll keep you safe.”
    She pressed against him, her heart beating into overdrive, both from fear and the look in his eyes—the one that told her he was willing to risk his life for her.
    He crushed his lips to hers, and Natalie returned the kiss, letting it express the things they had no time to say.
    She reluctantly let him go. His expression turned hard.
    “When I open the door,” Knox instructed, “I want you to take a right and walk quickly. Don’t run . . . yet. We might be able to sneak out without him seeing us. But if I say run, I want you to run this time. Don’t worry about me. This fight is mine, and I won’t have you hurt because of it.”
    His words made it dawn on her that she wasn’t the only one running away from something.
    “Bullshit,” she said forcefully, with much more bravado than she felt. “The fight with the guard in the alley